White, 32, is seen lying on the ground in the video, recorded on March 31 in Vineland, N.J., and aired Friday. White's body is obscured by a police dog who stood over him as officers attempted to pull the K-9 off.

An unnamed expert told NBC Philadelphia the cops should have called off the dog as soon as the suspect was subdued, and added the cop had no right to confiscate the phone.

Ed Barocas, legal director for the ACLU of New Jersey, told The News, that police do not have the right to take a phone without someone's consent unless they have a warrant. There are exceptions if an officer can reasonably believe the video contains evidence of a crime and the owner is likely to delete it, he said.

Barocas declined to address this specific incident but said this is a general rule for all similar situations as long as the person filming is not interfering with the police's investigation.

"People have the right to film government officials acting in public with a camera and that includes police officers," he said.

White went into respiratory distress and died when he arrived at a hospital, officials said.

A cell phone video shows Phillip White, 32, (left) lying on the ground as a police dog stands over his body. White died after he was arrested in Vineland N.J. Tuesday. (Right) A police officer asked if the witness had seen tyhe incident and then said he had to take the phone. (NBC10.com)

An autopsy was scheduled but the results have not yet been released.

"The family is distraught," said Conrad Benedetto, the family's Philadelphia-based attorney, who told the Daily News that White had multiple dog bites. He would not comment on the video and could not say definitively that the bites caused White's death.

The footage showed White lying on the ground with the dog standing over his body as officers ordered him to turn over. It's unclear in the video whether the dog is biting White.

An officer on the video approached the person who was filming and asked if he saw all of what happened. When the witness said he had, the officer asked the man for his name and address, and told him he was required to take his phone.

The station did not disclose how it obtained the video or whether the phone was returned to the man who recorded it.

The footage does not show what occurred before White was lying on the roadway.

Phillip White, 32, a father of two children, went into respiratory distress and died after being arrested by police officers. (Facebook)

Ayala said the officers told him White tried to take his gun.

Police did not return a message seeking comment. Cumberland County First Asistant Prosecutor Harold B. Shapiro declined to comment on any aspect of the case to The News or if it was allowable for a police officer to take video of an arrest captured by a witness. The prosecutor's office and the New Jersey State Police are conducting an investigation.

"Our sincere thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased and with the officers involved," he said. "I ask that everyone allow time for our justice system to now investigate this matter to its truthful conclusion."

Benedetto said he had begun an investigation and intended to file requests to obtain the police dashcam videos.

He said White's family was devastated by the death of the father of two children.

"It's pretty fresh," he added. "We want to do everything we can to get as much information as possible."